FILM/SNEAK PEEK : WIDOW TURNS CAMERA ON VIETNAM.

Byline: - Bob McCarthy

The unpopularity and aftereffects of the Vietnam War have been grist for filmmakers, from ``Coming Home'' to ``The Deer Hunter'' to ``Born on the Fourth of July.'' Robert Zemeckis even went there in ``Forrest Gump.''

Documentary filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn knows about it first-hand. Her life was irrevocably changed when her husband, Jeff, was killed in Southeast Asia - and she received the news on her 24th birthday, no less. Two decades later, she traveled to the battlefields with a camera and a need for some closure on his death.

Her experience and the footage she brought back went into the making of ``Regret to Inform,'' an Academy Award-nominated documentary playing at the downtown Grande 4-plex.

The Grande 4-plex is at 345 S. Figueroa St. Call [phone] for showtimes.

Remembering Natalie Wood

Actress Natalie Wood once remarked, ``I don't know if I wanted to be a star. I just wanted to be great.''

Though she never was a favorite of critics, Wood managed to compile a filmography that includes the critically acclaimed ``Rebel Without a Cause'' and ``West Side Story,'' the popular ``Gypsy'' and the holiday favorite ``Miracle on 34th Street'' (shot when she was 9).

``An American Girl: The Sad-Eyed Splendor of Natalie Wood'' is under way at the American Cinematheque, with screenings at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. At 7 tonight, ``Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955) and ``Love With the Proper Stranger'' (1963) will be screened. On Saturday, a triple bill begins at 3 p.m. with ``A Cry in the Night'' (1965), followed at 5 p.m. by Blake Edwards' ``The Great Race'' (1965) and at 8:30 p.m. by ``Gypsy'' (1962).

Sunday's double feature is ``All the Fine Young Cannibals'' (1960), co-starring her husband, Robert Wagner, and ``Kings Go Forth'' (1958). Showtime begins at 4 p.m.

The series continues Sept. 10-12. Tickets are $7 general admission, $5 for Cinematheque members. The theater is at 6712 Hollywood Blvd. Call [phone] for program information.

Cinecon 35

Movie stars, old films and memorabilia can be found through Monday at the 35th annual Cinecon film festival at Glendale's Alex Theatre.

``Titanic's'' Gloria Stuart, who is enjoying a resurgent career since the big-boat blockbuster, will be signing copies of her new autobiography, ``I Just Kept Hoping.'' MGM musical star Howard Keel, whose credits include ``Showboat'' and ``Annie Get Your Gun,'' and '40s leading lady Rhonda Fleming, who appeared in ``A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' and ``Gunfight at the OK Corral'' are also featured guests.

Classic and silent films, including Douglas Fairbanks' ``In Again-Out Again'' (1917), ``Dante's Inferno'' (1924) and Fay Wray's ``The Woman I Stole'' (1933) will be screened at Cinecon, a major supporter of film preservation.

A day pass is $20, except for Monday, when it is only $10. A series pass is $75. The theater is at 216 N. Brand Blvd. For information, call [phone].